St. Simons & Brunswick Area

[HaagenDazs]

Here's a place for all our Brunswick and St. Simons area questions.  I've got family (in-laws) down there but they aren't big foodies so much of the information I find is online (here), through word of mouth, or personal experience. 

For instance I just found out today that Brunswick has a Saturday farmer's market: Brunswick Harbor Market at Mary Ross Waterfront Park.  Has anyone ever been?  Is it year round? 

[HaagenDazs]

http://www.sapelofarms.com/

Has anyone been to Sapelo Farms?  It looks like an OK place to buy some produce if you're looking for farm fresh stuff.  It's not cheap but maybe prices will come down when supply (and selection) increases as the weather warms up.  They sell produce to the public with a one day notice/order via email and they have grass fed beef and goat meat available, but it is very small-scale and seasonal.  Also, they only sell whole or half cows and whole goats, not specific cuts.  I plan on checking it out next time I'm down there.

[HaagenDazs]

Truly terrible news for BBQ lovers in the area.  Southern Soul BBQ burned completely to the ground on Saturday morning.  They are however planning on rebuilding, "All we need is a smoker and a meat order and we're ready to go" quoting Griffin from one of the articles.

http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/open_access/local_news/Southern-Soul-3_27-10

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-03-27/story/popular-glynn-restaurant-destroyed-fire

[mikeamor]

Barbara Jean's:
Partner and I had dinner here last night and were let down by a lot of hype.
We both had combination plates to sample a variety of their fare.

Meal is started with their highly touted bread selections; corn & jalapeno, pumpkin and whole wheat.
These were tasty but are so sweet they would be better served as a dessert.

Crab Cakes: Virtually flavorless, mushy fried patties. They claim to be "100% crab" and "No Filler" but they use so much stuff for binding, there might as well be breadcrumbs or other "filler" in use.
There was a lot of crab in them but any flavor was cooked out.  
Visually resembled fried mashed potato patties.  They look nothing like the ones designed by the food stylist on their WEB site.

Fried Fish Fillet: Generous portion, slightly rubbery with a coarse, hard coating.
Partner immediately said "Big frozen fish stick".

Grilled Shrimp: Fresh but lacking in flavor and unfortunately the smallest portions.
Four small shrimp on a bed of rice.

Red Beans and Rice: Good flavor but too few beans on a lot of rice.
It would have been nice if the waitress mentioned you also get rice with the meal because this made for a lot of rice.

Black Eyed Peas: Actually a very good side dish, with a hint of ham and nice seasoning.

Broccoli casserole: A thick gelatinous ball of rice, cheese and a hint of broccoli scooped into a bowl with an ice cream scoop.

Green Beans: Looked fresh but were over cooked.

214 Mallery Street
St. Simons Island GA 31522
(912) 634-6500
http://www.barbarajeans.com/

[mikeamor]

Catch 228:
More Miss than Hit Here
Had the fried oyster app and wahoo fish of the day.
The wahoo was one of the best grilled fish I have had in a while. Perfectly cooked to a medium rare as ordered with a subtle grill taste complementing the fresh wahoo. It was however, only about a 3oz portion, more app sized, and way too small for the price tag.
The cheese grits accompanying it were light and nicely seasoned.
The fried oysters app was just plain nasty. Coated in a breading that had cheese (parmesian I believe) mixed into it, resulting in an overpowering grease and fried cheese flavor that completely masked any oyster that might have been hidden in there. The oysters were mostly very small and those large enough to detect through the batter had no flavor left in them.
Margaritas were just OK fare. Formulaic mix and a weak pour of liquor.
Overall, we would not return here. Prices way out of line with the quality or portions served.

228 Redfern Village
Saint Simons Island, GA
912-634-6228

[mikeamor]

Crab Trap:
What I Like in a Seafood Resto!
They serve good, no frills seafood.

The atmosphere here is kind of an affected or faux seafood dive with tables that have holes in middle to throw your shells and the like but that does not negatively effect the fish they cook up.
I started with the crab soup app. This is not a cream and butter laden soup. It was a broth deep with flavor and thick from the amount of sweet crab meat and a few vegetables. Absolutely a winner.
I had the rock shrimp and mahi platter with their battered fries, hush puppies and slaw. The rock shrimp were superb. The broiled mahi was perfectly cooked. Both very fresh.
The battered fries were interesting. Seemed to be pre-boiled and then coated in a light, tempura-like batter and fried. Actually very good. I would love to have these made with sweet potatoes! Slaw and hushpuppies were good but not memorable.

Overall, prices are a little on the high side for the entree portions served but most places seem to be these days. Would definitely go back.

1209 Ocean Boulevard
Saint Simons Island, Georgia 31522
Telephone 912-638-3552
http://www.thecrabtrapssi.com/

[mikeamor]

Willies Wee-Nee Wagon:
A local institution celebrating 35 years.
Read a lot about this place and it is one of the great lunch/road food places to stop by.
Their hot dogs are nicely seasoned and offered with a good selection of chili, slaw and other accessories.
Their highly popular pork chop sandwich is served on a sandwich roll with grilled onions, and thinly sliced, grilled pork.
Hamburger was weird in that it is a round patty served on the long sandwich roll and sticks out of the bun in the middle with both ends empty.  Hamburger and bun were grilled and overall very tasty as far as cheap hamburgers go.  Patty is seasoned, served with lettuce, tomato, mustard and mayo.
Steak sandwich was also very good.  Thinly sliced, grilled beef served on the same rolls with grilled onions, lettuce, tomato, mayo, mustard.
Be sure to tell them exactly how you want your sandwiches dressed when you order at the window.  They don't seem to always dress them as advertised on the board.
Sweet ice tea is free with each sandwich ordered.  We ordered 2 steaks and a hamburger to share the last time we were there and the nice, older lady at the window simply insisted we had to have 3 teas because they come with the sandwich.  BTW, I don't usually order sweet tea but this was very fresh and only slightly sweet.
We did not have them, but fries are the larger "steak cut" fries and sure looked good!

Cash only.
Not open Sundays and closed the week of 5/9 thru 5/16 for vacation this year.

3599 Altama Ave
Brunswick, GA 31520

[HaagenDazs]

We had a nice but quick visit with the in-laws this weekend.  We went out to eat on Saturday night to the much beloved Cargo Portside Grill.  This was my first visit back there in over a year and the restaurant reminded me that it is clearly the best in the city of Brunswick.  We started with Oysters Rockefeller, Thai style calamari, and their crab cakes.  The calamari was fried right (soft yet crunchy) and served with a curry dipping sauce which was a nice addition.  The crab cakes were good but I didn't see any large lumps of crab in there like I was hoping to see.  

I had the sesame fried catfish which came with some of the best rice I've had in recent memory - koku sticky rice (?).  It was incredibly bouncy and light to the tooth, but not rubbery.  The catfish was served with a jalapeno tartar sauce (not spicy enough but good) and an Asian slaw that was nicely balanced.  For dessert we got a complimentary ice cream sampler (it was the in-law's anniversary) with their dense chocolate cake and peach pound cake.  Chef Jayson evidently likes to play with his food as we had an avocado ice cream (super creamy) and a Gorgonzola ice cream (good, but could have used more blue flavor) along with several other flavors.  Overall it was a very good dinner.  

If you venture to St. Simons and you don't plan on a night over the causeway here in Brunswick as part of your dining experience, you are simply missing out on a great meal.

Cargo Portside Grill
www.cargoportsidegrill.com
1423 Newcastle Street
Brunswick, GA 31520-7019
(912) 267-7330

[HaagenDazs]

Southern Soul BBQ will be on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives tonight at 10:00 for those that can stand a few minutes with backwards-sunglasses-just-because-it-looks-so-awesome Fieri.

[mikeamor]

Southern Soul BBQ will be on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives tonight at 10:00 for those that can stand a few minutes with backwards-sunglasses-just-because-it-looks-so-awesome Fieri.

The sunglasses I can put up with.  It's watching him handle food and eat that grosses me out. 

[HaagenDazs]

After a week long vacation to the Golden Isles (beat the Memorial Day crowd) I can sadly report that Cargo Portside Grill in Brunswick has closed.  It was truly a gem in the area and it's too bad that the economy took its toll.  

Southern Soul BBQ has long since reopened after their devastating fire and is cranking out some serious traditional BBQ and tasty experiments and specials.  House made pastrami & smoked bologna are 2 that come to mind.  If you venture to this area of the state, Southern Soul is still a can't miss.

If cooking at home is your thing City Market fish shop in Brunswick is now carrying Sapelo Island clams.  Jay Swift among others have been using these bivalves for a while now and they are a great local option for cooking up some appetizers or dinner.

http://www.citymarketseafood.com/

[totm]

If cooking at home is your thing City Market fish shop in Brunswick is now carrying Sapelo Island clams.  Jay Swift among others have been using these bivalves for a while now and they are a great local option for cooking up some appetizers or dinner.

http://www.citymarketseafood.com/

Some of the sweetest shrimp I've ever had I got at City Market a year and a half ago.  On a cold Sunday morning in October shrimp and a few oysters were all they had available.

[waynehoobler]

Don't venture in to 'Captain Joes'.  Not good stuff.